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Indianapolis Deaf Pizza Man Beaten

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On Saturday, September 2nd, Mark Rice, a deaf pizza delivery worker in Indianapolis, was beaten by two men while he was trying to deliver pizza. After he gave the men his car keys, the men left. He thought he was going to get badly hurt, but he survived. We have reached out to Mark to share his story with us. Take a look.

I’ve never considered just how bad it could be. I’ve been working this job for a year and it never occurred to me. I parked on the street and it was dark outside. I felt kind of a weird vibe and I got nervous, maybe because the lights were dim and the street was so quiet. So, I got out of the car and saw a man walking past, and my car was still running. I stayed alert to make sure he wouldn’t take my car. I saw him and still had a funny vibe. Another person came by from another direction. I knocked on the door and no one answered. So I thought, fine, and I went next door to knock on their door. Then I saw a kid, a little girl or boy or something and we started talking. The kid said no, next house. I was like, okay, fine, so I went to around to knock on another door. No answer. There was a guy there in the corner. And they were starting to come together in the corner of the house. It was weird, but I was optimistic. I signed to the guy that I would call. And the guy kept looking and started to walk closer to me. I had a weird feeling, like what if he was going to hit me? He kept on watching with this face like he was ready to attack me. I was like I knew it. Then he grabbed my wrist. I thought he wanted to just grab the pizza because it’s a notorious thing that happens sometimes. Maybe he was hungry, and I know the area had a high crime rate. Then someone else grabbed my other wrist and they started beating me up. They took my money, then they took more money. I kept telling them, “What do you want? I’m deaf!” They said, “Keys.” Earlier, I felt safer to take my keys with me, because I was going around the corner where I couldn’t see my car. So I took them with me. And they took the keys and left. I got up and left.

He struggled to find help, but was ignored. Mark had to walk over two miles back to work to call 911. Hours later, the police found Mark’s car at a gas station. A teenager who was with the car was arrested. We are glad to see Mark is okay. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay safe.